


All of My Songs Are For You

by ShamelessPeterPan (PiscesDragon)



Series: With Your Hand in Mine We Are Kings [9]
Category: Chinese Actor RPF
Genre: Anxiety, Backstage, Established Relationship, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Mild Language, Supportive Partners, award show
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-15 00:55:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28804665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PiscesDragon/pseuds/ShamelessPeterPan
Summary: It’s Tencent Night 2020, and things are very different from a year ago. Yibo reminisces over the struggles of the past year as he enjoys some stolen time with Xiao Zhan.
Relationships: Wang Yi Bo/Xiao Zhan | Sean
Series: With Your Hand in Mine We Are Kings [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1664230
Comments: 7
Kudos: 164





	All of My Songs Are For You

**Author's Note:**

> This is my take on the Tencent Awards - sprinkled with rumors and fan theories throughout!
> 
> Thanks to @OverthinkingThis for being my beta!

With a soft knock on the door, Yibo made his way into the adjoining hotel room. They didn’t usually bother with separate rooms anymore — everyone around them was well aware by now of their relationship, and there was no need for pretenses. Still, it was a big event and they both needed to get ready, so it had been easier to use two rooms and ensure that all of their staff had enough space to work.

Plus, Yibo just liked the idea of being able to do a big reveal in person. It seemed like a thousand years since the last time they’d done this together.

“You ready for pictures?” Yibo asked, talking to the back of his partner’s head as he walked closer. The jacket was a boxy men’s cut, and as his gaze ran down the length of his back, Yibo lamented the fact that it wasn’t cropped short like a woman’s jacket.

It was hiding one of his favorite features from view.

 _Probably better that way,_ Yibo thought. Less distracting for him, and Xiao Zhan would already be stressed enough without worrying about his fans gawking at his ass.

The object of his affection finally turned toward him, and Yibo couldn’t help the smile that split his face.

His man was always so beautiful.

“Zhan-ge,” he breathed. “So handsome! How do you get more gorgeous every year?”

Unconsciously, his hands reached out, but they were slapped away before he could make contact with Xiao Zhan.

“Don’t you touch him!” scolded Xiao Zhan’s assistant, only half joking. “If you wrinkle his suit, you’ll feel my wrath, Wang Yibo!”

He looked down at her with a smirk. “I’m not scared of you, LiLi. I’m like a foot taller than you. What are you going to do? Bite my ankles?”

He smiled at her as she turned a frown on Xiao Zhan. “I don’t get paid enough to put up with him, ZhanZhan. I need a raise.”

“Too bad,” Xiao Zhan said, not taking his eyes off Yibo. He reached out to take his hand, letting Yibo’s wrap securely around his own. “We’re a package deal — you knew that from the start. Besides, he’s so good looking, it makes up for his crude personality.”

Xiao Zhan’s eyes sparkled with laughter, his smile bright as his gaze caught Yibo’s and held him fixed in place.

“You love it,” Yibo taunted.

“I do,” Xiao Zhan admitted, looking at him like he never wanted to look away. It was like being warmed by the sun, and Yibo couldn’t help but revel in the feeling.

Gagging noises came from behind him, interrupting their little bubble.

“Ugh, seriously, get a room,” LiLi complained. Yibo opened his mouth to give a suggestive retort, and she pointed her finger at him threateningly. “Later! And don’t you dare kiss him, ZhanZhan! You’ll ruin your makeup.”

“I wasn’t —” Xiao Zhan said, looking at her with wide innocent eyes and a playful grin.

“Yeah, right. I know that look,” LiLi retorted. “Let’s get a move on. You both need pics before we get you in the cars.”

“I love you in pink,” Xiao Zhan said with a soft smile. His free hand reached up to fiddle with the pins on Yibo’s jacket. “These are nice. Are these… scissors?” 

Yibo gave him a look, daring him to figure it out. 

It took no time at all for Xiao Zhan to determine their meaning. “Is this supposed to imply ‘cutsleeve’? _Really_ , Bo-ge?”

Yibo’s grin was smug. “Interpret it however you want. Maybe I’m just saying I look _sharp.”_

“Always finding a way to push the envelope,” Xiao Zhan remarked. “I’m surprised there’s not a lion and a bunny pinned next to each other on your jacket.”

Yibo cocked his head to the side. “Would you have let me wear a bunny pin?”

“No,” Xiao Zhan answered firmly, but his smile was soft. “Somebody has to protect you from yourself.”

“I am an extremely talented man, Zhan-ge,” Yibo said with a cocky smirk. “If I’ve managed to survive dancing, skateboarding, and motorcycling racing I don’t think ‘wearing a rabbit pin’ is going to be what finally does me in.”

Xiao Zhan sighed and his face morphed into the fond, exasperated look he always had when he wasn’t sure if he wanted to kiss Yibo or throttle him.

It was one of Yibo’s absolute favorite Xiao Zhan expressions. When they’d first gotten together, it had been his daily goal on set to coerce that look onto the older man’s face. But then it didn’t take long for the _‘I want to eat you alive’_ and _‘I love you so much’_ looks to surpass it.

*G*G*D*D*

Yibo had just finished hurrying through the red carpet, more than happy to help speed up the process that was running overtime due to the earlier celebrities taking longer than planned. After being shown to his dressing room, and stalling for what he considered a reasonable amount of time, he left his room to go knock on Xiao Zhan’s door. He didn’t expect the man would have any issues with the photographers at the event, but there was a first time for everything, and given the way most of the year had gone, Yibo couldn’t help but worry.

Xiao Zhan opened the door with a wan smile, said a few quiet words to his security standing outside, and then closed and locked the door once Yibo was safely inside.

“What’s wrong?” Yibo asked, sensing that something was off more than just Xiao Zhan’s pre-show jitters.

“It’s nothing,” Xiao Zhan shrugged him off, focusing on his phone screen and refusing to meet Yibo’s eyes.

He reached out to wrap a hand around Xiao Zhan’s bicep, not allowing himself to get distracted by the solid bulk of it, and pulled him around to force his gaze. They had been together, or mostly together, for over two years now. Yibo _knew_ when something was wrong. He knew when Xiao Zhan was acting and when he wasn’t. And they’d made an agreement — in the spring, when everything went to shit and Xiao Zhan was keeping too much to himself, letting it eat away at him inside — that he would never try to protect Yibo from his troubles again.

Yibo’s eyes must have carried the reminder of that promise, because it only took a few moments for Xiao Zhan to drop his facade. 

“They don’t want me to sit out front. There are way too many of my fans here, and they’re worried it will distract from everyone else,” he admitted, slumping down onto the couch.

A flare of anger burst to life within Yibo’s stomach. “That’s bullshit —”

“Maybe this will be better — easier,” Xiao Zhan said, his voice coaxing as he grabbed at Yibo’s hand to bring him down to sit beside him. “They only have so much security… I don’t want to give the antis any more to work with. And I can’t control the fans. But if I’m not out there except to perform, they’ll have less to spin into a negative light.”

Xiao Zhan’s fucking fans. They were the bane of Yibo’s existence, and if he didn’t have so much in common with them, he’d probably hate them. As it was, they loved the man he loved, and it was pretty difficult to find fault with that.

But there were _so many_ of them… And they were so _zealous._ Keeping a low profile for most of the year had done very little to diminish Xiao Zhan’s popularity — instead it seemed that his fans were even more ravenous for every peek at him they could get. It was no surprise they had jumped on any hint of rumor that he would appear at the awards show and bought every ticket they could manage.

Unfortunately, Yibo could do nothing about the fans and had no control over the producers’ decisions. But that did _not_ mean he was helpless.

“Then I’ll just stay here with you,” Yibo said stubbornly.

Xiao Zhan, of course, countered him immediately. “You can’t! What about Zhao Liying? You’re supposed to sit with her and promote your show.”

“She won’t care,” Yibo immediately replied. At Xiao Zhan’s critical look, he insisted, “She won’t! I’ll talk to her about it if you don’t believe me.”

“Is it going to do me any good to argue with you?” Xiao Zhan asked, giving him an assessing look.

“No,” Yibo answered petulantly.

“Your manager is going to have a fit.”

“I don’t care.” And he didn’t. He was tired, his energy stores running dangerously low. Given the option of sitting on a couch like a doll on display or cuddling on one with Zhan-ge for the few hours they had together in the same building, there was absolutely no contest. It was well worth the argument he’d have with management later.

Besides, he was currently their golden boy with a contract re-negotiation that would probably begin sometime next year. They were going to have to learn to give a little or go fuck themselves.

Xiao Zhan shrugged, his expression being that of ‘don’t agree with this, but I’m relenting,’ and Yibo reached for his phone to text his co-star before thinking better of it. He’d seen her earlier before the red carpet, in a dress that meant she definitely wouldn’t be holding her own phone. And he didn’t know her staff well enough to trust them.

“I’ll be right back,” Yibo said, giving Xiao Zhan’s hand a squeeze before forcing himself off the couch and out the door.

Luckily, Liying’s dressing room wasn’t too far down the hall. He knocked politely, shifting on his feet as he waited. A woman he vaguely recognized answered the door, opening it only wide enough to see her face.

“Yes?” She looked bored at first, until she craned her neck back to see his face. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she was otherwise unrattled, impressing Yibo with her professionalism.

He gave a small bow in greeting. “Is Zhao-laoshi busy? I’ve got a question for her.”

The woman turned her head to look behind the door, then opened it wider and gestured for him to come in.

“Yibo! Hi!” Zhao Liying greeted him with her quiet, understated tone that always put him at ease. “Did you need something?”

He was distracted for a moment by the fact that her dress took up half the room as she stood there, and though it was beautiful, he was thankful he was only expected to wear a suit. Getting around in that thing must be a _nightmare._

“Oh, um…” he glanced at the other woman in the room, an assistant he assumed, and back at his co-star with a meaningful look.

Zhao Liying turned immediately to her staff. “Could you go find more water?”

“Of course,” the woman answered, giving a quick suspicious look to Yibo on her way out the door, as if she wasn’t entirely sure he could be trusted alone with the actress.

He nearly laughed at how ridiculous the sentiment was, but he was a man on a mission.

“Liying-jie, they won’t let Zhan-ge sit out front,” he explained as soon as the door clicked closed.

“Oh,” she said in surprise. “I’m sorry, Yibo.”

Her eyes were soft, and he knew that she meant it. They hadn’t become extremely close during filming, not in the way Xiao Zhan had with Xuan Lu whom he still kept in touch with, but they were friendly enough. She had earned his trust enough to be privy to the secret-not-so-secret man in his life, and had been there to help him along in the spring when they’d needed to finish filming and his heart (and focus) were far from the set.

Unlike many other women he had worked with, Liying was someone he could be comfortable around. She wasn’t loud or obnoxious. She was married, with a family, and never flirted with him off camera. She was like an older sister, putting up with his antics but mostly leaving him to his own devices, occasionally finding him amusing but was otherwise highly uninterested in him.

If only all women in the industry could be so perfect.

“I want to stay backstage with him. Do you mind? Will you be ok sitting there alone?” He felt bad suddenly, abandoning her to the masses when she had always been a good senior to him.

He couldn’t tell her about what it took them to get there. About the year they’d had, the death threats, the anxiety. About Xiao Zhan’s panic attack and his own fear that his partner wouldn’t be able to handle performing on a stage again. He couldn’t tell her that he didn’t really _care_ what she wanted — the most important person was in his dressing room, and needing him, and that was all that mattered. 

He knew that Xiao Zhan was nervous and trying to hide it from Yibo so that _he_ didn’t get stressed. And Yibo was not alright with that.

“I’ll be fine, Yibo,” she said with a small, indulgent smile. “Go take care of your boy. Tell him I can’t wait to hear him sing!”

“Ah! Thank you!” He held out his arms as if to hug her, then thought better of it and grinned. “I don’t want to rumple you. Thank you so much, jiejie.”

He bowed at her in gratitude and then she quickly ushered him out the door before they could embarrass each other any more.

Yibo made his way back to Xiao Zhan’s dressing room, his mind spinning, trying to find the best strategy for getting through the rest of the night.

They’d had a plan. A solid one. And it had worked well up to this point. They’d managed to avoid anyone getting wind of Xiao Zhan’s appearance by using Yibo’s name on the rehearsal schedule to cover for him. It was risky, and he’d taken some flack for it online with people saying he was a diva who was commandeering stage time and making it more difficult for the other performers. But Yibo had earned enough status over the last few years that his reputation could take the hits without much damage.

And it was worth it to protect his Zhan-ge from the people that would attack him and could potentially spoil this chance for him to perform. He was tired of watching Xiao Zhan hide in the shadows, when he so clearly belonged in the spotlight.

“Are you tired?” Xiao Zhan asked, once Yibo had returned to the room and settled next to him on the couch. “Maybe you should rest before you need to perform.”

He _was_ tired, and although a nap sounded glorious, he wasn’t going to let himself sleep when he could feel the slight twitching of Xiao Zhan’s nervous fingers against his thigh. He had a job to do _before_ heading out to the stage to sing later.

Xiao Zhan liked to distract himself when he was wound up or nervous. When they were home, he would read, or work on his art, work out, or cook. But his options for keeping busy were limited in the small dressing room.

Luckily, Yibo was _excellent_ at being a distraction. And he had no problem letting Xiao Zhan coddle him, especially knowing how much it would actually help keep the older man’s thoughts from running to things better left ignored. If Xiao Zhan was busy being concerned about Yibo, then he couldn’t waste energy stressing about his stage, the fans, or whatever nonsense was being stirred up online for the evening.

“Do you want to watch a movie?” Yibo asked, pulling up a streaming service on his phone and opening their shared list. They settled on an older animated film that Yibo had seen before, and he let Xiao Zhan worry over him, forcing Yibo to drink more water so his vocal cords wouldn’t be strained later. They passed the time quietly in their little bubble of stolen time, content to just enjoy each other’s company.

“This is so much better than being out there,” Xiao Zhan admitted. “I’m not sure if I’m ready for the pressure of just being _watched,_ you know? I’m fine to perform, but just sitting there — having all those cameras and eyes on me, watching every single breath I take…” he paused to take a deep breath. “I hated it before, but now…”

Xiao Zhan had worked his way back, battling his nerves to be back on a stage. He’d started small, doing a studio performance without an audience. Surrounded by children — which was always a fun experience for Xiao Zhan and made him feel more child-like himself — he sang a song privately dedicated to Yibo. After that, Xiao Zhan took on another performance, this time in front of a small audience. He had been amazing, and Yibo was so proud of him.

He was strong — and brave — and would not let negative people stop him.

But tonight was the biggest venue Xiao Zhan would take on, and one of the largest he had ever performed in as a solo act.

He was always so poised and so good, it was easy to forget that Xiao Zhan had only been singing on large stages for a few years. And back then he had rarely been alone, first performing with X-Nine and then with Yibo and other cast members at his side through the _Chen Qing Ling_ concerts and activities. Even the competition show Xiao Zhan had done the previous year was built around duets, pairing him with a number of renowned seniors in the industry. The handful of solo performances he’d done here and there over the last few years, or years ago when he was in college, could only do so much to prepare for the experience of standing in the middle of a huge stage — completely alone, exposed, in front of thousands of people.

*G*G*D*D*

As the host introduced the upcoming act, the quiet of the dressing room was broken as Yibo’s staff shuffled around to get a better spot, eager to watch the performance. Yibo paid them no attention, his eyes glued to the screen on the wall broadcasting the live stream as Xiao Zhan took the stage, greeting the other singer with a smile as he walked out to join her under the lights.

 _He sounds good,_ Yibo thought as the familiar voice joined the song. Not nervous at all, not wavering even slightly the way Yibo had expected. He knows it’s probably due to having Yang Zi on stage with him, and for once, Yibo is glad of her presence.

When Xiao Zhan had filmed _Oath of Love_ with Yang Zi the previous year, Yibo had been… a bit of a jealous brat, if he was being honest. But from the tidbits of information Xiao Zhan had given him, Yibo could tell that the woman was definitely making her interest in her co-star clear. No matter how much Xiao Zhan reassured him there was nothing to worry about, Yibo couldn’t shake the fear that he might lose him.

She was pretty enough, an extremely successful and high ranking actress — and they were playing lovers. With a script that called for much more intimate interaction than Yibo had ever seen in a drama. And he knew better than most how easily Xiao Zhan slipped into his roles, forgetting himself.

He’d fallen for his co-star when they had filmed _Chen Qing Ling_ — what was there to stop it from happening again?

Yibo had been an insecure mess, traveling to visit his boyfriend’s set at every possible opportunity, wanting to provide a constant reminder of what Xiao Zhan already had. That he was loyal, that he would give Xiao Zhan everything he could possibly want — that he was _better_ than any alternative who would throw themselves at his man.

They’d fought, of course. Xiao Zhan only had so much patience, and the fact that Yibo didn’t trust him wasn’t something the older man could let slide.

That seemed like a hundred years ago now.

They had been through so much together since then, had committed themselves to each other in so many different ways, everything short of a legal marriage (which was in the planning stages but had to wait until the health crisis had passed and they could travel to New Zealand). All Yibo could feel now when watching Xiao Zhan share a stage with his co-star was so much pride and love it felt like his heart might burst.

They sounded good together, with Yang Zi’s sweet, child-like soprano blending perfectly with Xiao Zhan’s soft, clear tenor. It was a relaxing song, almost like a lullaby. He suddenly remembered Xiao Zhan singing it to him months ago over the phone, when it was late and he couldn’t sleep.

In no time, the song wrapped up and Xiao Zhan was waving the woman off the stage, leaving him standing alone in a single [spotlight](https://twitter.com/BjyxObsessed/status/1340743448605958150?s=20) as the crowd’s cheering rose to a deafening level.

Yibo watched as the camera picked up the fan lights in the crowd, creating a red sea of support throughout the entire audience. He had heard the venue tried to ban the lights, to prevent the audience from showing too much preference for any of the celebrities. While fans breaking the rules almost always resulted in a mess, just this once Yibo was glad for it.

As he started his second song, Xiao Zhan was bathed in a red glow of love from his fans, and it was a beautiful thing to see. There were even yellow signs from their couple fans mixed brightly into the red, reminding Yibo of the last time they’d been at this same event a year ago and standing on stage together.

Xiao Zhan’s vocals started strong, but less than a minute into the song Yibo could hear the emotion beginning to overwhelm him. His eyes were shining under the lights from the tears in his eyes, and Yibo knew exactly what he was thinking of.

 _All of my songs are for you, baobei,_ he’d told Yibo when he’d been taping ‘Our Song’ last year. _What else could I think of when singing about love, if not you?_

“Don’t cry, baobao,” Yibo whispered, forgetting — and not caring — about the others in the room. Xiao Zhan’s ring sparkled under the lights, tucked tight against the microphone like a titanium piece of Yibo’s heart put on display. “I’m with you.”

Xiao Zhan settled in, hitting his stride toward the middle of the song as he put more power into his voice and built up to belt the crescendo. There were still nerves, hidden in an undertone that only someone as tuned into him as Yibo could probably hear. But it didn’t matter.

He was still amazing.

Yibo waited impatiently for Xiao Zhan to come find him when he was done, knowing he would be slowed down by well wishes and congratulations from many people backstage. It was fine — Yibo didn’t need to prepare for his own performance quite yet, and Xiao Zhan knew where to find him.

At a knock on his door, his bodyguard and his assistant, who had been relaxing in the downtime and scrolling through their phones while they could access an outlet to charge them, quickly got to their feet. They scooted out the door before Xiao Zhan could get in, leaving them alone without any words being necessary.

He was so thankful to have good people working with him.

When Xiao Zhan walked in with a bright, relieved smile, Yibo wasted no time in wrapping him in his arms. “You were _SO_ great, baobao. So good.”

“It felt good,” Xiao Zhan admitted. He shuddered and sagged into the hug, relaxing as the nerves and adrenaline eased out of his system. His suit jacket was gone, probably handed off to his staff on his way to the dressing room, and the back of his dress shirt was damp with sweat.

“I’m wet and gross,” Xiao Zhan grumbled, trying to pull away from him.

Voice dripping with suggestion, Yibo grinned wickedly. “I like it when you’re wet.”

“Don’t even think about it,” Xiao Zhan said, even as Yibo wrapped his hand around the back of his neck to keep him close. “You’re too tempting, and you have to go on soon. We are not doing what we did here last year!”

A flash of memory burst through Yibo’s brain, on his knees in a dressing room between outfit changes and moaning with his mouth filled as Xiao Zhan tugged at his hair and told him to be quiet.

It had been a _really_ good night.

“You don’t think we should make it a tradition?” Yibo asked in a deep voice. He pushed up on his toes to give Xiao Zhan a soft kiss, licking at his lip instead of biting it the way he wanted to. Watching the man command the stage, looking gorgeous and showing off his skills, and knowing Xiao Zhan was _his_ had definitely gotten Yibo more worked up than he realized.

Heat flared in Xiao Zhan’s eyes. “Maybe I can help _you_ relax before you perform?”

His intention was clear, already leaning down farther to drop gentle kisses along the younger man’s jaw.

Yibo wasted no time in taking him up on his offer — he was always more than happy to give Xiao Zhan whatever he wanted. Especially when what he wanted was him...

*G*G*D*D*

A while later, after Yibo had been thoroughly “relaxed” and his mind buzzed with a blissful alertness, he listened while Xiao Zhan picked apart his performance.

It used to bother him, this penchant the older man had for analyzing everything and critiquing every minor error. Yibo’s own mindset was more in the line of “what’s done is done” and there was no sense rehashing what you couldn’t fix. He was a perfectionist on the front end, a believer in the idea that when you prepared thoroughly, you could give your best.

But at some point Yibo had come to accept his partner’s perfectionist tendencies. Xiao Zhan liked to have a plan, and he also liked to review the ups and downs after the fact, in order to learn from his mistakes and be even better the next time. His assistant, having wandered back into the room at some point along with his own staff, was even taking notes for him to refer to later.

Yibo could see the usefulness of the practice — as long as it was productive and didn’t veer into second-guessing and beating yourself up. Which Xiao Zhan was prone to, and Yibo took on as a personal task to ensure it didn't happen when he was around.

“Have you decided yet what you’re going to sing for your next stage?” Yibo asked in an attempt to get the older man to think ahead and not perseverate too much.

Xiao Zhan was under a tentative agreement to perform on New Year’s Eve, though unfortunately not on the show Yibo would be hosting with his Tian Tian Xiang Shang brothers.

“Not yet,” Xiao Zhan answered. “I’ve got a few ideas, but I’m still trying to decide.”

He would need to talk Xiao Zhan into putting together a set with dancers — being on stage was much easier when surrounded by others, and it was what he was used to. It would take some convincing to get him to agree to do a dance routine, but Yibo knew the man would be more comfortable and perform better when not standing in the spotlight alone.

He could do that tomorrow, though. Tonight he just wanted to make things as easy as possible.

Their hands were tangled together, and Yibo fiddled mindlessly with the ring on Xiao Zhan’s finger. He’d given Xiao Zhan the ring a year ago, after the whirlwind of promotion and months of skyrocketing to fame so fast both of their heads were spinning. They were going to be attending their first award show together, and when Yibo realized his boyfriend didn’t have any quality accessories of his own, he had surprised him with the ring in advance. He’d told Xiao Zhan it was to commemorate the occasion, but it felt more like a promise, as well as a way to silently stake a claim that only they would know about.

“You should let me borrow this,” Yibo suggested as he spun the shiny cylinder around. “So I’m not so nervous.”

“Wǒ jiā xiānshēng* never gets nervous,” Xiao Zhan cooed. “He’s so cool and confident.”

“Psshh, everybody gets nervous,” Yibo argued. “Will you let me wear it? Look, it matches my jacket!”

He twisted the ring so it glittered in the light, just like the sparkling sequins and crystals embedded into the dark jacket he’d changed into earlier for his performance.

“Bo-ge, you _can’t_ wear it. Everyone will see,” Xiao Zhan said, somehow sounding both whiny and apologetic at the same time.

“So?” Yibo pouted, wondering at how much Xiao Zhan would let him get away with.

The answer was clear.

“No, Yibo,” his partner said with narrowed eyes, though his voice was gentle. “Don’t be stupid.”

“Fine. Then I’ll just put you in my pocket,” Yibo said lightly, completely unruffled. “And take you on stage with me.”

Xiao Zhan gave him a warning look, but pulled the ring off and slid it into his palm. “It doesn’t leave your pocket?”

“Promise,” he swore, tucking it safely into the left side of his pants.

Shortly after, a PA came knocking to give Yibo the warning that he was due on stage soon, and he dropped a kiss on Xiao Zhan’s lips before sending him out the door. He knew how much his fiance liked to listen to him sing, but he needed a few minutes to himself before taking the stage, and it was easier to run through vocal warmups without a captive audience. The staff touching up his hair and makeup was enough of a distraction.

In no time, he was standing behind the curtain, waiting for his cue as it rose. As the first notes of his song played, Yibo adjusted the mic and slid his free hand into his pocket, wrapping Xiao Zhan’s ring in his palm as if it was the older man’s hand he was holding. He hoped that one day — not soon, but sometime in the future before they both retired from the industry, he would be able to do just that. Sing with Xiao Zhan again, with their hands linked together the same as their hearts, on a stage where they didn’t have to pretend.

For now he would do what he’d always done — work hard, keep pushing, and take care of himself and the people he cared about. With a last caress of the metal in his pocket, Yibo stepped out into the lights.

**Author's Note:**

> Wǒ jiā xiānshēng - Means something like ‘the mister of my home’, like another way to say ‘my husband’... There’s a rumor that XZ calls Yibo this, and I think it’s just the sweetest thing! ❤
> 
> You can find me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/bjyxobsessed) most days, sharing ridiculousness and fun about Yibo and XZ :)


End file.
